Yeah I went to see Iron Man One recently it was a pretty great conclusion to the trilogy AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGG WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU MICROSOFT. Anyway with that out of the way we’ve had our presentations on the next gen consoles, the PS4 and XBox FUCKING THREE. The WiiU also exists I guess but that’s “next gen” in a strictly chronological sense only. But don’t let that scorn mislead you – I’m not insulting Nintendo because I prefer one of the others. No no, this coming generation doesn’t seem to be offering an obvious place to plant one’s flag, and if you’re an idort who gets every console then you’re just getting suckered out of even more money – the difficulty choosing doesn’t stem from multiple excellent options. Quite the opposite.
XBox VI’s presentation a couple of days ago was maybe a little better than the PS4 presentation that took place awhile back, because they actually had a console to show and the whole thing seemed to hang together a bit more professionally than the Sony affair. Unfortunately they didn’t leverage that into provoking even the tiniest bit of excitement about the thing!
If you’ve not yet seen it, here’s the Microsoft presentation in full:
They did mention a sports game that wasn’t Cawladooty, but it was something weird called Quantum Break that provided no information whatsoever on what the hell it is. At first I actually thought it was some crazy successor to old-school FMV games which would admittedly be rad as hell, but the confusion doesn’t exactly serve to sell games or consoles.
Microsoft did announce 15 exclusives in the first year of release, of which fully 8 are new IPs – and that part is interesting and positive. Perhaps among those will be some good games that make genuinely innovative used of the new hardware. But between the pseudo-always-on requirements and the shenanigans to fuck over used games, I’ve got very very little interest in getting one of the things. I’ve got very little interest in any of the new generation in fact – someone’s going to have to impress me at E3 if they want my moolah because otherwise I’m just going to upgrade my PC.
What do you folks think about it all? Am I being too harsh on the next generation? Are you similarly dissatisfied with the state of console gaming today? Do you, like me, already have an XBox One sitting right there in your house WHAT ARE YOU DOING NO MS I WON’T CALL IT THAT, I WON’T
According to PCMag Quantum Break is : “Developed exclusively for Xbox One, Quantum Break blurs the line between television and gameplay, integrating the two into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience,” said developer Remedy. “Quantum Break weaves the cinematic action of intense gameplay with the tension and drama of scripted television, creating a world where each has a direct impact on the other.”
I think we will be sitting out this round of consoles. My kids are still plenty happy with their Wii, and I do most of my gaming on my phone, Kindle or computer anymore.
“Xbox Three” …I fucking love it and fully intend to continue using it. What is beautiful about saying Xbox Three is there is actually less ambiguity about which Xbox you’re talking about.
I personally still feel slightly retarded any time I use the word “Xbox”. That word is as ridiculous to me now as it was in 2000.
Another random thought, this sets them up nicely for the seq– I mean the next console: XBOX ZERO.